Smithsonian Carousel In 1967, Smithsonian Secretary <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/134">S. Dillon Ripley</a> opened a <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/197">carousel on the Mall</a>. Built in 1922, the carousel featured music played by a Wurlitzer organ. In the photo, Ripley celebrated its 10th anniversary on the Mall. By 1981, the carousel was too difficult to repair and it was replaced by a larger one that remains today. The current carousel originally ran in Baltimore's Gwynn Oak Amusement Park, and was the first ride taken by an African American child when the park was desegregated in 1963. Smithsonian Institution Archives photograph, <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_8247?back=%2Fsearch%2Fsia_search_collections%2Fsmithsonian%2520carousel">View original</a>. 04/12/1967 (dedicated) 1981 (replaced) <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1950-1979">1950-1979</a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a>